CALL ME CALAMITY CAT That’s what the news media called me My name’s actually spelled with a K and Kat is for Katlin Calamity is for calamity An event causing great damage or distress If you look it up in the dictionary which is something I often do look up words you’ll notice it’s a noun I’ve made it a verb Kat’s calamiting again I suppose I was calamitous before I ever showed up in a little sky-high town in the Colorado Rockies but that’s when my calamiting reached world status Friday night in Cripple Creek is a two-step back in time with honky-tonk and colored lights and mobscenities as my brother Dillon puts it spilling into the streets It’s the Wild West all lit up That’s when we checked in The Empire Hotel had vacancies though you wouldn’t know it by the human logjam in the lobby We’d been on the road since glory knows what inglorious hour after slouching in the car as opposed to sleeping at a restless stop as opposed to rest right in the middle of truckers night out While Dillon and Dad were waiting in line I was crouched behind a couch in the lounge shaking a pair of dice They were my own dice and came in handy at times like these Handy as in small cash gain
C’mon c’mon c’mon I said I said it seriously enough for it to sound real as if the roll would be strictly chance Seven Seven c’mon I tossed the dice across the red and-gold carpet they hit the base trim of the wall One was a six I expected that The other Yes A one I grinned at the kid next to me who was down on his knees by my side And down on his luck So far I’d collected three dollars from him two ones two quarters four dimes and six pennies OK he was four cents short but I had let it slide I stuck out my hand palm up I only have a five he said I’m not giving you that You will It was his turn to roll But first he popped up to peer over the couch he’d been sitting on moments before fidgety and bored Not one to miss an opportunity I had approached him and grinned flashing my gold-capped tooth Got any money What’s it to you he’d said his eyes round as nickels I showed him my dice and explained the rules I call and roll if I call it right you pay me a dollar You call and roll if you call it wrong you pay me a dollar So whatever it is he said protruding his lower lip I pay you a dollar Let me finish If I call it wrong you keep your dollar If you call it right
You give me a dollar I shrugged Fair enough The game was going well All clear he said dropping back behind the couch He cupped the dice C’mon Twelve twelve He rolled there was the six There was another six Twelve he said Was he catching on I reluctantly pulled out the coins he’d given me and let them fall through my fingers Hey he whined scrambling to pick them up This is what you gave me for a dollar I said Ninety-six cents He blinked at me I’m being generous I went on You still owe me a dollar A whole dollar He surrendered with a grunt My turn So far it was working better than I’d thought I could always or nearly always count on one die coming up six All I had to do was guess on the other one More often than not I got it right How long it took my opponent to suspect was the only risk involved That and Dad catching me Nine I said and rolled
Eight A six and a two Ha said the kid and stuck out his hand Nope You keep your dollar remember He frowned tilting his head Hurry I said We don’t have all night He snatched up the dice pretended to spit on them and said Four I smiled to myself So he wasn’t catching on after all He rolled Four it was two twos Leaning over I adjusted my glasses and inspected the dice It was a four he challenged Like I said I know I spun one die around the black spot was still intact I fingered the other one Hand it over he said his nostrils flaring Now we’re even I explained You owed me one His frown returned Doubt was ticking away in his head Maybe I’d underestimated him Maybe it was time to quit I picked up the dice and plunged them into my pocket I felt the money there I’d never make godzillions at this game but two dollars were better than nothing And I knew what nothing was The kid finally said How do the rules go As luck would have it Dad called out my name
